Washington, United States | AFP | A partial shutdown of the US government entered a 12th day Wednesday as President Donald Trump prepared to meet top Democratic and Republican lawmakers in a bid to break the impasse over his demand for funding for a border wall with Mexico. One day …
Read More »US government shutdown would impact 800,000 federal employees
Washington, United States | AFP | A threatened shutdown of the US government would see hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed and many more working without pay. President Donald Trump warned Friday that a shutdown could last a “very long time” unless Democrats in the Senate join Republicans and …
Read More »US govt shuts down at midnight as House adjourns with no deal
Washington, United States | AFP | The US House of Representatives adjourned Friday without Congress passing a spending deal, assuring a partial government shutdown at midnight as President Donald Trump and lawmakers remain at odds over border wall funding. Operations for several key agencies will cease in the early hours …
Read More »No Christmas miracle expected as US govt shutdown looms
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Friday gave the clearest signal yet that the US government will partially shut down at midnight, likely leaving hundreds of thousands of federal employees with coal in their Christmas stockings instead of paychecks. Concern — and frustration — in Washington …
Read More »$5 billion for his border wall? Trump eases shutdown threat
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump has stood firm for days: no spending deal to keep government operating if Congress does not approve $5 billion to build a US-Mexico border wall. On Tuesday he softened his position. “We have other ways that we can get to that …
Read More »Pelosi nominated by Democrats to reclaim US House speaker role
Washington, United States | AFP | Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking woman in the history of US politics, was easily re-elected Wednesday to lead congressional Democrats, a major step on her march toward once again becoming speaker of the House of Representatives. The California lawmaker ran unopposed to lead the …
Read More »US Muslim lawmaker-elect in proposal to end head-covering ban in Congress
Washington, United States | AFP | A Muslim congresswoman-elect has co-authored changes to a longstanding rule banning the wearing of head coverings on the US House floor, an effort supported Monday by the nation’s largest Muslim rights group. Ilhan Omar, a Somali refugee who was one of the first two …
Read More »US senator fires top aide over ‘improper relations’ with staff
Washington, United States | AFP | A prominent US senator on Saturday fired his chief of staff for improper relations with subordinates, as US lawmakers increasingly grapple with the issue of sexual harassment. Republican Senator Marco Rubio said he received by Saturday “sufficient evidence to conclude that while employed by this …
Read More »Millionaire buys anti-Trump book for every member of Congress
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Democratic mega-donor and billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer has bought every member of Congress a copy of Michael Wolff’s controversial book `Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House’. The book portrays Trump as a Republican candidate who did not actually expect to win the presidency …
Read More »Blame game as Congress struggles to end US govt shutdown
Washington, United States | AFP | With the US government in shutdown, the Senate convened a rare emergency session Saturday to negotiate a way out of a crisis that has marred the anniversary of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. Hours after a marathon session Friday failed to produce agreement on a …
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